Explorers
by Archaeopteryx Feather
Summary: A series of short vignettes focusing on Starscream and Skyfire during the Golden Age.
1. The Waterfall

_When I was writing "Fire and Stars," I included some flashbacks to Starscream's life as an explorer. Alas, these didn't fit well into the story, and a friend wisely suggested that I cut them out. I still like the scenes though, so I decided to post them here. Don't expect plot or anything. ;P_

* * *

Starscream followed Skyfire over a range of high-peaked black mountains. It was night, and dense clouds of golden stars glittered overhead. They were circling the planet, cruising slowly towards the daylit side. An accelerated blue dawn crept slowly up over the horizon as they flew forwards in time.

"What could be so interesting that you had to drag me all the way to another continent to see it?" Starscream said. "I was almost done with that core sample."

"It's a surprise," Skyfire said.

"It had better be good," Starscream said.

"It will be."

The sky was taking on a whitish tinge as they swept down towards a whitewater river roaring through a canyon. Starscream eyed the geology, trying to guess what Skyfire had brought him out to see.

"Sedimentary rocks," he said, interpreting the striated appearance of the rugged black cliffs.

"It's a stack of oceanic advancement and retreat sequences," Skyfire said. "All of this used to be underwater, and the sea level changed cyclically over time."

"There must have been a lot of uplift to get everything this high."

"Yes; these mountains rose after the end of the last sequence. Well, here we are."

Skyfire passed over the canyon, and set down at the base of a nearby cliff. Starscream landed next to him with a ringing crunch of metal on stones. Out of habit, he examined the cliff's revealed strata, noting the repeating pattern of light and dark layers which corroborated Skyfire's mention of the cyclic sea levels.

Skyfire looked around for a moment as if orienting himself. Above them the ground sloped upwards steeply, exposing a slope of boulders and gravel flows.

"I think that's the way." He pointed uphill.

"Looks like fun."

They scrabbled up the hillside in a clatter of falling stones. Starscream clawed his way up on all fours as the gravel sank away underfoot. When they reached a ledge midway up, Skyfire paused again.

"Hear it?" he asked. Starscream listened. At the edge of his auditory perception, there was a faint, continuous noise.

"The river?" he asked, gesturing vaguely at the directionless sound.

"A waterfall," Skyfire said.

"A _waterfall?_" Starscream groaned. "That'sit? _That's_ what we came all this way to see?" He had seen dozens of waterfalls! Hundreds, even!

"Of course not," Skyfire said, his voice gently chiding.

Starscream gave a loud sigh. "I suppose it's a big one, at least?"

"You'll see," Skyfire said. "Come on, let's go before it's too late."

_ Too late? _Starscream thought. He found his interest involuntarily piqued.

They attacked the slope again. Each step they took sent a clattering avalanche of stones cascading down the hill. Skyfire was moving with uncharacteristic haste, and Starscream found he had to scramble to keep up with his long-legged friend as they surmounted slopes of scree and crumbling heaps of black boulders. The noise of the waterfall grew louder and louder.

A yellowish blush slowly illuminated the sky. Starscream wondered why they hadn't landed closer; the spot they had originally touched down at was only faintly visible now.

"Hurry!" Skyfire shouted, his voice floating indistinctly down from the promontary above. Starscream could hardly hear him now over the rumble of the waterfall. He looked around, trying to find it, but could see nothing—no mist nor any sign of water at all.

"I'm coming," Starscream yelled back. He clambered after his friend as best he could. At last he made it to the bottom of the ledge. Skyfire reached down and pulled him up. The other jet stared into the sunrise for a moment, then turned away and hurried towards a gash in the cliff face. Skyfire twisted sideways and disappeared from view.

Momentarily startled, Starscream followed. He peered inside and found a narrow passageway leading through the rocks. Skyfire was edging his way between the walls. Starscream imitated him, glancing upwards to catch a reassuring glimpse of the sky above.

As they squeezed through, the crack curved and bent downwards. The rumble increased to a roar, and the walls and floor began to grow damp. If the planet had supported life, Starscream would have expected to find dense mats of plants thriving under the constant moisture; as it was, there was nothing but wet stone beneath his heel thrusters.

A fresh, cool breeze swept through the passageway, and he was certain that they were getting close to their destination. What had Skyfire thought was so great about the waterfall? They had already seen bunches of them in their travels, some of them miles high, others made of novel materials like lava or even heavy gas. _Well, he__ does love waterfalls._

Finally the passage lightened and they stepped out onto a narrow ledge. Starscream was greeted by a shocking view. In the shadow of the canyon walls, a mighty sheet of water tumbled downward, falling into a churning whirlpool that lay directly underneath the cliff they were standing on. Over the thunder of the falls, he could hear sporadic slurps and growls as the whirlpool devoured the foam that the waterfall fed it. The scene was bathed in a cloud of mist that danced up from the pounding water below.

Starscream peered over the ledge to look straight down into the whirling vortex, and immediately felt Skyfire take hold of his wings. Unmindful, he continued looking down into the all-devouring hole, watching the foam as it was sucked into the darkness. When he had seen enough, he stepped back and away from the ledge, and Skyfire released him.

_Okay, y__ou were right, it was worth it,_ he said over their internal comm. It was too noisy to talk aloud. Skyfire smiled and pointed back at the scene.

_You haven't see it all yet. Keep watching_, he said.

_What is it?_ Starscream asked.

_You'll see,_ Skyfire replied, turning back to watch. Starscream waited, glancing back at Skyfire from time to time as the minutes dragged on. At last the sun rose over the wall of the canyon, striking the water and setting it ablaze with gold.

_Pretty,_ Starscream said.

_Wait. You haven't seen it yet,_ Skyfire said, optics fixated on the falls. _Keep looking. You don't want to miss it._ Impatiently, Starscream turned back to look—and suddenly the mist came alive with rainbows—rainbows that moved! Starscream's mouth fell open. The colorful bands writhed about like phantasmal snakes, undulating as if they were alive. He stood transfixed, watching them twist in the air.

_There, wasn't it worth it?_ Skyfire asked in quiet satisfaction.

_What makes them do that? _

_I don't know,_ Skyfire answered, holding up his palms empty-handed of answers. _There must be some __interaction__between the__ light and __the __mist that __only__ goes on a__t a certain sun angle__. It only lasts a few minutes._

_We'll have to study this._

_Agreed,_ Skyfire said. _For now, however, I suggest that we appreciate the pictoresque __attributes__ of the scene__._

Starscream snorted a laugh. _You and your waterfalls. __Is this__ a sightseeing tour __or a scientific expedition__?_

Skyfire just gave an indulgent smile. _B__oth. _

Starscream turned back to the spectacle, optics drinking in the rainbows, the whirlpool, and the golden waterfall. A second later he felt Skyfire rest his hand on the small flat spot between his wings. Starscream stood still, accepting the silent companionship. They watched the fallstogether_,_ and waited for the break of day.


	2. All's Fair in a Mudhole

"No fair!" Starscream protested as Skyfire grabbed a nearby tree and shook it vigorously, sending tiny red fruits raining down onto his muck-covered form and speckling him with red dots.

"All's fair in a mudhole, Starscream," Skyfire laughed, only to be hit in the face by a mudball. It had all started so innocently...

They had just finished repainting, polishing and buffing themselves after a nasty sand storm, and their paint gleamed in the sun. Starscream had sat still for what seemed like an eternity while Skyfire directed all of his pent up perfectionism towards the task of making perfect pinstripes. Every time Starscream complained about how long it was taking, Skyfire just responded patiently, "If you would stop moving, I would be done already." And Starscream returned plaintitively, "There's no one out here but us, Skyfire. No one will care if I have a messy pinstripe." And Skyfire would smile and reply, "Well, I will."

After enduring all of that, and then waiting longer still while it all dried out, Starscream had been eager to set out. He had the day's explorations by looking over the lip of an embankment at what appeared to be an animal wallow. A good view was obscured by some inconveniently placed bushes, so he had grabbed hold of a tree that was growing nearby, intending to hang onto it so that he could lean out over the edge. The seemingly healthy tree turned out to be rotten inside, and as soon as he put his full weight on it the trunk snapped right in two, sending him plunging downwards into the ooze with a truncated scream.

By the time Skyfire's concerned face appeared at the edge of the cliff, Starscream was trying to thrash his way out of chest-deep mud so that he could crawl back up. His antigravs strained futilely against the sucking grip of the ooze, and his nice new paint job was completely covered with slimy brown mud.

"Are you alright?" Skyfire asked, stretching down a hand to him. To Skyfire's credit, he was holding back the laugh that was obviously bubbling up inside. Starscream groaned and made a face in response, giving up on his antigravs and reaching up to grab at the other's outstretched hand. It was no use—Skyfire's fingers were just out of reach.

Starscream stretched up as high as he could, standing on tippey-toes in the muck. Skyfire reached down further. That was a mistake. The embankment's lip crumbled. With a cry Skyfire slipped down the cliff and slammed into him, pressing him down into the mud.

Starscream's shriek of dismay was drowned out by the mud. He thrashed about, trying to get free of the weight pressing down on him. Just when he thought he was never going to see daylight again, Skyfire flipped himself over onto his side. Starscream surged back to the freedom of the air above. He broke the surface with a muddy spray of flailing arms.

Collecting himself, he wiped the dark mud off of his optics. What he saw was a very muddy Skyfire flopping about, trying not to sink in deeper and failing miserably.

"Don't worry, it's not that deep," Starscream said, catching the attention of his friend.

Skyfire's struggles ceased abruptly as he seemed to gain his feet. He forced himself upright. Fortunately, what was chest-deep mud for Starscream turned out to be only cockpit-deep mud for Skyfire.

"That wasn't one of my smarter ideas," Skyfire said ruefully. "

"Thanks anyway," Starscream said, shrugging. He tried his antigravs again without any luck. The pull of the ooze was just too strong to break free.

Skyfire half swam, half waded forwards to the cliff which he had gone sliding down and began to try to crawl back up. Starscream watched hopefully. If Skyfire made it up successfully, he would follow the same way.

The other jet grabbed a handful of roots growing out of the cliffside, but when he pulled them a whole clump of brush collapsed into the mud. Skyfire tried again, this time digging his hands into the loose soil of the slope and trying to drag himself up. It quickly proved to be a futile effort; the shifting dirt provided no handhold and the slimy mud provided no foothold. Finally he sank back down in the mud, defeated. But only for a moment.

Holding up a dripping finger as if beginning a lecture, Skyfire said cheerfully, "You know, Starscream, I'm glad we had this opportunity to study animal wallowing behaviors. I think this has been a good learning experience, don't you?"

The sight of a mud-covered Skyfire pretending to put a positive spin on falling into a mudhole caused Starscream to snort an involuntary laugh.

Skyfire just smiled in response. "You know the worst thing about a white paint job?" He sloshed about as he tried to scrabble up the embankment once again.

"It shows dirt?" Starscream guessed, quite familiar.

"It shows dirt," Skyfire affirmed with conviction.

"Don't worry, it's not noticeable," Starscream said.

"Oh, good," Skyfire replied, and with that he slipped down the slope again. As he clawed ineffectually at the cliffside, trying to retake the lost ground, a rock came tumbling down the slope and plunked into the mud, sending a spray of brown slime splattering over Starscream.

"Sorry," Skyfire said, apparently failing to notice that Starscream couldn't possibly get any muddier than he already was.

"Oh, think nothing of it," Starscream said, scooping up a handful of mud in one hand and examining it. It appeared to be composed of a fine silt or clay mixed with abundant organic matter. Abruptly, Skyfire said, "Don't even think about it."

"What?" Starscream asked, not really understanding what his partner was referring to. What was wrong with doing a little compositional analysis on some mud?

Then, unexpectedly, a broad grin spread across Skyfire's faceplate. He slid back completely into the mud again and sat there up to his elbows in it.

"I'll show you," Skyfire said. "Observe closely." Taking heed, Starscream watched carefully as his partner scooped up some mud and formed it into a ball shape. Starscream imitated the gestures with the mud in his own hands. Why was Skyfire smiling so much? The other jet had a positively huge grin on his face.

"What's so funny?" Starscream asked.

"This," Skyfire laughed, and without warning he threw the ball of mud. It hit Starscream square in the chest and splattered on impact, sending muck flying across his face, wings, and intakes. Mud drizzled down his cockpit.

Stunned, Starscream wiped the mud droplets out of his optics and stared at Skyfire in bewilderment. His "friend" was smiling in satisfaction as he packed another mudball. Had Skyfire actually done that on purpose? Surely he had! What was it possibly supposed to teach him?

"Why didn't you warn me you were going to do that?" Starscream demanded.

All innocence, Skyfire replied, "Because then you would have ducked." Without further warning, he threw the next ball. This time Starscream did try to dodge, only to be hit in the wing.

"You-you're-" he exclaimed, suddenly realizing the meaning of Skyfire's grin. It wasn't a lesson at all! Skyfire was just throwing mud at him! Starscream grinned fiendishly and threw the ball of mud in his hand at the broad target of his partner's chest. It splashed gloriously, throwing globs of mud across the few unsoiled surfaces of Skyfire's exostructure. Starscream burst into peals of laughter.

"You learn fast!" Skyfire called merrily, finishing another mudball and hurling it at him. Starscream ducked and it went whizzing over his head to land with a splat behind him.

"Ha, missed!" Starscream taunted, starting on a mudball of his own. "Now I'll teach _you_ a lesson!" He pitched the mudball. Skyfire didn't try to dodge it, instead throwing up an arm and catching the projectile on his elbow.

"You'll have to do better than that, Starscream."

As they traded mudballs, the fight deteriorated until all codes of honorable conduct were abandoned and he and Skyfire blindly splashed each other with mud until they were tired out with laughter.

Wiping his optics off at last, Starscream saw a pair of blue optics smiling back at him out of a brown, dripping face. Both Cybertronians were covered with sticks and leaves, and in Starscream's case, a multitude of tiny red berries. "Truce?" Skyfire offered.

"Truce. For now," Starscream said, flicking a tiny red berry off the tip of his nose. A second later he added, "I was winning though."

Skyfire gave a loud snort in response. "We must have a rematch sometime. Alright, let's get out of here. How about if I give you a boost up so you can use your antigravs, and then when you get out you can lower me a log."

"And then we can go get cleaned up again," Starscream finished.

"Are you sure you want to do that? I think brown with red polka dots suits you," Skyfire said seriously.

"Don't make me leave you in this mudhole," Starscream threatened.

"No, I really think it does," Skyfire said, his optics twinkling.

The bigger jet grabbed Starscream under the armpits and slowly heaved him up out of the mud, holding him up over his head. Finally able to pull himself free, Starscream rose upwards on his antigravs, dripping mud.

"You know, I'm beginning to like it in here," Skyfire said thoughtfully. "It's nice and cool, and it keeps the insects off."

"Well, I would hate to spoil your fun," Starscream said, looking down at his stuck partner. "I guess I could come back in a few days."

"Make it a week," Skyfire said.

Chuckling, Starscream went to find a sturdy log. He was not prepared for the mudball that hit him in the back.


	3. Missed You

The planet was a desert—lifeless, dry and empty. The only sound Starscream heard as he worked was the wind whistling through masses of crumbling boulders. Kneeling by an intact outcrop, he dug away loose gravel so that he could trace the contorted white quartz veins in the stone beneath. They reminded him of white worms burrowing through the shiny, metamorphosed schist, and he followed them with his fingers, searching looking for patterns. At some point in a distant age, the veins had been straight. Now they were folded up on themselves, squashed into undulating waves by powerful tectonic forces. But were these the same forces that had raised the mountains that loomed to the east, or was he dealing with two separate events? The veins gave no answers.

He had been working on the problem for three months already, and had yet to solve it. Nor was Skyfire there to help. The other jet had advised him to give it up two months earlier, by which time Starscream had already been struggling with the problem for a month straight. Skyfire had said that he shouldn't spend too much time on any one thing, and that it was time they moved on to the next system. Sometimes, Skyfire had said, the effort it took to find an answer was not worth the trouble. He had suggested that they leave the question for future scientists with better equipment.

But by that time Starscream was locked into mortal combat with the problem and could not bear to leave without knowing the answer. He had told Skyfire that he wanted to stay until he had figured it out, and had urged his partner to go on to the next system without him. He would catch up later. Skyfire had pointed out that this was impossible since the next system was too distant for him to reach with his smaller fuel tanks. So Starscream had suggested that Skyfire could go there and then come back for him in a few months' time. But Skyfire had frowned on that option, stating that it was unsafe for them to work alone and that he didn't want to have to fly all the way back again just to pick him up. Starscream had protested, and finally, after a calm, reasonable discussion in which Skyfire never raised his voice (_translation: an argument,_ thought Starscream), it was agreed that Starscream would remain behind and Skyfire would return for him in two months' time.

It had been a quiet, dull two months, and Starscream was counting down the days (eight left) till Skyfire got back. The novelty of working alone had quickly worn off, and now he was bored.

"Well, Starscream, you seem to have come to another dead end," he observed as the quartz vein under his fingers petered out into the rock. He had adopted Skyfire's habit of talking to himself, which was rather ironic since he was always teasing his partner about that.

Dropping his hand, he settled back on his haunches and examined what he had uncovered. The veins were compressed into an accordian shape, yet they also looked curiously stretched and sheared—probably more than one stress had acted on them to give them that appearance. Starscream sighed at the thought of untangling what had happened. He just wasn't that motivated anymore. His zeal for the problem had faded over the months, and now he recognized that he had stayed behind more because he didn't want to be bested rather than because he was actually interested. He eyed the quartz veins a moment longer, then decided to take a break. He could work on the problem later.

A nearby boulder provided something to rest his back against, and he sat and stared at nothing in particular. What was Skyfire doing right now? _Probably reading,_ Starscream thought. He knew from experience that Skyfire didn't mind being alone. As long as he had a book to read, the other mech was perfectly content to be left alone for days. Starscream was discovering that he hated solitude. With a passion.

He picked a pebble up off the ground, examined it briefly, and tossed it at the quartz veins. It bounced off of them and went skittering to the ground.

"Whee," he said, picking up another one.

A crunching noise came from behind. Then, "Starscream?"

Starscream leapt to his feet. There, threading his way through the rocks, was a familiar white figure. Skyfire had come back early!

"Skyfire!" Starscream cried. He threw himself at his partner in an antigrav-assisted leap.

"Hi Starrrr—"

Skyfire's greeting was cut short as Starscream smashed into his chest. The big jet went staggering backwards, arms wheeling frantically. Starscream locked his arms around his friend's neck in a happy hug. He stuck there, grinning as Skyfire danced backward over the rocks, each step threatening to send him toppling over.

At last Skyfire managed to halt his retreat. He stood still for a moment, relieved, then glared downward. Starscream just smiled up at him. For a moment Skyfire held onto the glare; then he laughed and returned the hug.

"So, did you miss me?"

Starscream said wryly, "A little."

"A little? What does a lot look like?"

"Why, full afterburners, of course."

"Remind me not to stay away so long next time," Skyfire said.

Starscream made a face as Skyfire set him easily back on the ground.

"So, show me what you've been up to," Skyfire said.

"I was just trying to figure out these quartz veins," Starscream explained, suddenly finding himself fired with enthusiasm again. Together they went over to the outcrop to examine it, Starscream leading the way.


End file.
